Zelgadiss' Christmas
by Chocolate Covered Demon
Summary: Zelgadiss is anticipating another Christmas alone when he runs into Xelloss. Now Xelloss is determined to make sure that Zelgadiss has some fun this Christmas. Mostly XelZel fluff. Xelloss: I have stolen your pants.
1. Zelgadiss' Christmas Eve

Zelgadiss leaned against the wall as he looked out the window at the small flakes of snow falling outside his window. It was dark outside, and the lamp in his room was dim, so he only caught a quick glimpse of the flakes before they faded away into the darkness. He had never really been a fan of this season, but he hated it now more than ever. It was just another reminder of how alone he was these days.

The last encounter Zelgadiss had had with any of his friends was about two years ago when he ran into Lina by chance. Mostly by chance, anyway. It was never really that difficult to know where Lina was: you just followed the trail of devastated towns, and there she was. Zelgadiss had heard that Lina was in the vicinity one day, and he decided he might as well go see how she was doing.

She was still with Gourry. Actually, she was more "with" Gourry than she had been before. According to Lina's story, she had finally managed to find the guts to face her feelings, and Gourry had apparently thought they were more or less dating already. Apparently Gourry didn't know the difference between a romantic relationship and getting beaten to death with a slipper at least three times a day. Well, considering that relationship was with Lina, there probably wasn't all that much of a difference anyway.

Except that now they were... close. Too close for Zelgadiss' comfort. So he hadn't stayed a few hours before running off again.

"Zel..." Lina had said just as Zelgadiss had stood up to leave, "You just barely got here. Where are you going?"

Zelgadiss shrugged. "To find my cure, of course, Lina." He put a few gold on the table to help pay for dinner.

"But... Zel. Come on, can't your cure wait a few more minutes?"

"Well..." He sighed, pausing.

Then Gourry's once-every-five-years insight decided to kick in. "Yeah, Zel. What're you runnin' from?"

Zelgadiss scowled. "Nothing. I'll see you two later." And he left.

Zelgadiss hadn't seen them since then. And he hadn't gone to visit Amelia, either. He wasn't really quite sure why. It was like he just didn't want to.

So needless to say, Zelgadiss didn't exactly have anyone to spend the holiday season with. Other than those three, he didn't have any friends. Well, except for those two who had been destroyed by a Demon Lord. And the last of his family had been possessed with said demon lord.

And that left him very completely and utterly alone.

He changed into his pajamas and lay down on the bed. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, and he was planning on spending it in the library looking for clues. Just like every other day. Well, if the library was open on Christmas Eve.

Enough, he thought, and put out his lamp to try and get some sleep.

He woke up at around three or four am to the sound of screams outside. He leaped out of bed and ran over the window. Flames, everywhere. He grabbed his things, opened the window, and cast a quick ray wing spell. Flying over the city, he spotted the source of the fire: a dark figure throwing flames at everything that moved.

A sorcerer? A Mazoku? The latter, Zelgadiss realized as he came in close. A very familiar Mazoku, holding a man bound and captive in one arm, and throwing flames at everything around him with the other. "Xelloss," Zelgadiss said in a half-whisper.

Which was plenty for the Mazoku to jerk his head up from his business. "Ah, Zelgadiss-san..." he said. His eyes open. "Are you here to stop me?" The man in Xelloss' arms squirmed to look up at his possible rescuer. He was very bruised-looking, and his long brown hair was missing from his scalp in places. Could have been worse, though, considering who held him captive. Zelgadiss saw the man's pleading eyes reflecting the flames around him and frowned. He landed on the roof of a nearby miraculously not-yet-burned building, and Xelloss joined him, tossing the figure to the side. The man hit the chimney with a sickening crunch.

"I must admit I am very surprised to find you here, Zelgadiss-san. But rules are rules, and if you decide to interfere..." Xelloss smiled, menacingly this time. "I'll of course have to stop you."

Zelgadiss' hands twitched near his sword, but then he relaxed. "I could never beat you alone," he admitted, and it hurt. He felt like he had to do something... "But why? Why are you destroying this town?"

"Hmm..." Xelloss considered for a moment. "Well, I guess there's no harm in letting you know." He gestured to the man on his left. "This man has come across some information I require. But he refuses to tell me! So, I had no choice but to destroy everything he holds dear while he watches." Xelloss shrugged.

Zelgadiss' mouth dropped. Horrible, but... for once, none of this had anything to do with him or Lina. "I... I see."

"Do you? Oh, good," Xelloss smiled. "Then if you don't mind..."

"But I can't let you kill all these people, Xelloss." Sure, maybe if it had been one or two, but... Well, Amelia must have rubbed off on him some after all.

Xelloss sighed. "I was afraid of that. Too bad, really, Zelgadiss-san..."

"Wait!" Zelgadiss said, a thought having struck him. "If all that this man holds dear is destroyed, then he won't have any reason left to talk!"

"I suppose," Xelloss agreed, "But I _did_ say from the beginning that I would destroy it, and if I didn't, well...that would make me a liar, wouldn't it?"

Zelgadiss frowned. "Is that really such a big deal?"

"Well, yes!" Xelloss said. "You see, as a Mazoku..."

"Never mind," Zelgadiss sighed. "Look. Can't you just say you changed your mind? I'm pretty sure this guy will believe you next time and tell you all you need to know. Right?"

The muffled yelling coming from the man in the corner could have been interpreted as a yes.

"See?"

Xelloss sighed. "Very well, I'll make an exception just this once... but only because we have a _history_, Zelgadiss-san." He smiled a little. Zelgadiss almost blushed. What the hell did he mean by that?

Xelloss disappeared, and within seconds, the fire was gone. He then reappeared and walked over to the man wedged between the chimney and the roof. "There now, Mr. Zimmus," he said, lifting the bruised and battered man up to see his surroundings. "I'm sure that at least one of your relatives must have lived through that. Now, thank Zelgadiss-san for saving their lives." Xelloss pulled the gag down, and Mr. Zimmus looked into Zelgadiss' eyes.

"Thank you," he said, sincerely. "Thank you so much for—" And Xelloss replaced the gag.

"There, that's enough, Mr. Zimmus. Unless you're willing to talk about that...other matter?" Xelloss inquired.

"I think you should," Zelgadiss huffed, resigned. "I don't think I can keep Xelloss from torching this city a second time."

Mr. Zimmus looked very upset (which was completely understandable, given his position) and nodded.

"Terrific!" Xelloss said, patting him on the back. "Now let's return and—" The man shook his head, and tried to say something through the gag. "Hm?" Xelloss pushed the gag down.

"Now. I want to tell you here and now. Or I won't tell you at all." For looking as broken as he did, the man's voice didn't shake at all.

"Well..." Xelloss began, but the man cut him off.

"It's in a small shrine, about halfway up the mountain." He nodded to a mountain in the distance. Then he met Zelgadiss's gaze. "The piece of the Claire Bible, which should _never_ be in the hands of a monster like—" Xelloss gave the man a firm rap on the head.

"Now, none of that," he said.

"A piece of the _Claire Bible_?" Zelgadiss gasped.

"It's under the altar. Go!" the man cried at Zelgadiss.

"I said, no more," Xelloss hissed, and with a thought, the man was incinerated with green flames.

Zelgadiss drew in a breath once more, and gagged on the fumes of burning flesh.

"Sorry about that," Xelloss said, obviously not sorry at all. "But I had to keep him from saying anything more."

"You bastard!" Zelgadiss said through clenched teeth, hand on his sword.

"Yes, yes," Xelloss shrugged. "Too bad you had to see that. But about the manuscript..."

Zelgadiss stopped cold. "Yeah? What about it?"

"If the contents don't appear to be dangerous, then I'll let you look at it before I destroy it."

"Destroy it?" Zelgadiss blinked. "That's all you're going to do?"

"Well, yes," Xelloss shrugged. "That's my job, after all. It's very unlikely that any information contained in that manuscript would actually be of any use to me in the first place. But in the wrong hands..."

Zelgadiss couldn't believe his ears. "All this to _destroy _it?"

"Yes. Just like the other piece you saw me destroy. Now if you'll excuse me... Oh, tell me, where are you staying in the town? So I can meet you later. Although I suppose I could just find you..."

"The inn was destroyed," Zelgadiss sighed. "So I'll meet you in the next town over. Don't wake me up before noon."

"Got it. See you then!" And he disappeared, just like that. But that was how Xelloss was, really.

As it turned out, Zelgadiss couldn't get back to sleep. It had only been a half an hour walk to the nearest town, so he hadn't really been up for very long, but he couldn't stop thinking about the manuscript and what it might contain.

What if this was it?

Probably not. The likelihood of this one piece of the manuscript containing his cure was really very slim. But it would probably still contain something interesting. Really, most people didn't get to see one piece of the manuscript in their lifetime. This would be his second.

Although, technically, last time he hadn't really had a chance to read it...

So he tossed and turned, and soon the sun had made it over the horizon. And he was still awake. He tried counting sheep, he tried this and that, nothing helped. So he went into his pack and had breakfast, then lay down again. And finally, he got to sleep.

What seemed like moments later, he heard a throat clearing beside him. Zelgadiss was awake instantly... only to find Xelloss' face just a little above his own. He screamed.

Xelloss clamped his hand over Zelgadiss' mouth. "Really, Zelgadiss-san. You knew I was coming." Xelloss lifted his hand and stood. Zelgadiss sat up.

"Right. So... the manuscript?"

"What? You don't want to catch up? Sit around the fire, talk about the good old days?"

Zelgadiss glared. "Do I look like the kind of person who would want to talk about the 'good old days?'"

"Well, no... but we should. I think you would enjoy it." Xelloss took the liberty of sitting beside Zelgadiss on the bed. Zelgadiss glared at him. "You know you would. Remember when you, Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and I went into that supposedly haunted tower? And you wound up dressed as a bunny? Ah, good times..."

Zelgadiss' couldn't help it. A small smirk broke out on his face. "That was all _your_ fault, you know."

"Well, I suppose it was, wasn't it?"

"Uh-huh. I bet you can't think of one adventure we had while you were around that didn't have something to do with you in one way or another."

"Really? Bet what?" Xelloss smirked a little. His eyes glinted open dangerously.

"Uh... nothing! I don't bet anything!" Zelgadiss said. "Who would be stupid enough to bet with a Mazoku?"

"Well, we could bet..." Xelloss started.

"Wait a minute! What about the manuscript? Let me see that. Then..."

"First bet something. Then I'll let you see the manuscript."

"Gah, fine... You're impossible, you know that? One gold."

Xelloss smirked. "What use would I have with a gold? Think of something better."

"I don't know... Hmph, if you're so insistent, you must have already thought of something."

"Perhaps. But you won't see the manuscript until you bet something."

"Fine..." He wracked his brains, but he couldn't think of something that he didn't want and Xelloss would.

"I know. You do anything I want..."

"Hell no!"

"...for ten seconds. I'll tell you when they start."

Zelgadiss considered. How much could Xelloss do in ten seconds? Well, come to think of it... it was Xelloss. Probably a lot. "No."

"No? Fine, eight."

"No."

"Five. I'm not going any lower. And if I lose, I do whatever you want me to do for five seconds. I won't do anything that goes against any of my master's orders though, of course."

Zelgadiss sighed. "Fine. Whatever. Five seconds."

"Terrific!" Xelloss said, slapping his fist in his hands. "Now, the first event that comes to mind that I had absolutely nothing to do with is..."

"Oh, great..." Zelgadiss grumbled, slapping his face with his hand.

"When Lina decided to go kill a dragon for dragon cuisine," Xelloss said. "I didn't have anything to do with that! That was all you guys."

"Oh, really?" Zelgadiss said, smiling. "You didn't have _anything_ to do with that?"

"Nope, nothing," Xelloss shrugged.

"We probably wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for you," Zelgadiss pointed out. "You were leading us the whole way, after all. Getting us to kill things for you. So, if you weren't there, we might not have gone to that town. Which means that you did have _something_ to do with it. Even if barely. And there is no adventure that we had while you were around that you didn't have absolutely _anything_ to do with. Because for you to not have had anything to do with it, you would have had to not be around in the first place. That makes it invalid." Zelgadiss smirked, really very satisfied with himself.

Xelloss pondered this for a minute. He rolled the idea over in his head for quite a few seconds, but then he shrugged. "Very good, Zelgadiss-san. I can't think of a way out of that one! Very well, you can make me do anything for five seconds!"

Zelgadiss beamed. He'd just beaten Xelloss! "Manuscript please."

"Actually...since we're being so literal... I didn't actually say _when_ I would give you the manuscript, now, did I?"

"No..."

"So if you want it now..." Xelloss grinned. "You'll have to use your five seconds to get it."

Zelgadiss scowled. Then he considered it... it wouldn't actually take Xelloss five seconds to get the manuscript, would it? At least, not if he ordered him to be quick about it. It was Xelloss, after all. He could do that sort of thing in a fraction of an instant. But what did he want Xelloss to do for him? Gold? Jewels? Then he snapped his fingers in realization. Of course! He could command Xelloss to tell him about his cure! That was it! "I know. In the five seconds I have, you will do the following... you will give me the manuscript, and then you will tell me all you know about my cure. In a way I can understand."

Xelloss' smile fell. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes," Zelgadiss said.

"Very well." Xelloss nodded. "That does not go against any of my orders. As long as I can destroy the manuscript after you've read it, of course."

"Agreed. The five seconds start now."

The manuscript appeared in Xelloss's hand, and he dropped the manuscript on the bed. Then Xelloss said, "There is no way for you to find your cure, Zelgadiss-san. It doesn't exist. Once a chimera is formed, it cannot be taken apart. Except for one possibility. A very high-level Mazoku could tear your golem and human parts out of you, but then there would be nothing to sustain what is left of your human part—and your human part is too physical to exist in pieces. Only the demon part of you would remain, as a demon can reform itself. And I'm fairly certain that's not what you consider your cure. On top of that, your being is somewhat like Gaav's was. You do not have a purely human soul anymore. It's partially brau demon. Your human soul is too far gone to be completely returned to normal."

Zelgadiss listened in silence. "Are you saying... I'm not human?"

"Well, what is human, really?" Xelloss asked, and his normal smile was plastered on his face. Of course, Zelgadiss' five seconds were long up. Zelgadiss sighed, shook his head, and looked down at the pages of the manuscript.

They were in ancient runes, of course. But from what he could tell by skimming, it was about astral energy, and how a person could use the astral energy of those around him or her to create a powerful spell. If this information was applied, he could create a spell about five times the power of Ra Tilt. Much stronger than the Dragon Slave. He smiled a little. "Well," he said, "At least this is interesting... But how is it not dangerous?"

"It could be," Xelloss shrugged, "In the right hands. Or, wrong hands, rather. But I have a feeling that you won't be planning to do too much with it."

"Really? How do you know?" Zelgadiss asked. "Using this and the energy of five strong casters, I might be able to kill even you."

"Indeed," Xelloss said, smirking. "But it would take time to drain all five people. A Mazoku like myself would notice and stop it in time. But you can also use it for strong healing spells, you know. I suppose that wouldn't cross your mind."

Zelgadiss shook his head. "Not really." He was quiet as he started reading it in earnest, memorizing it in his head.

"Well," Xelloss said. "I'll leave you alone for now. But I'll be back for the manuscript later."

"Of course," Zelgadiss nodded, and Xelloss was gone.

Which gave Zelgadiss the chance to break down.

He wasn't human. He _wasn't human_. He didn't just look like a monster. He _was_ a monster, and there was nothing in this world that could ever change that. He would be a monster as long as he lived. He would never know what it was like to have friends, good friends, who didn't see a monster when they looked at him. He couldn't take his mask down. He couldn't walk into town without getting suspicious looks. He would always be...different. And of course, he'd never have a girlfriend, either. He'd never know what it was like to...well, have sex.

And all of this on Christmas Eve, too. What a great Christmas present. No, he hadn't forgotten it was almost Christmas. How could he? How could anyone ever forget Christmas, even if they tried as hard as they could?

He sighed to himself, wiping his eyes. Apparently he did have tear ducts. But there was no time for this now: he had to memorize this text before Xelloss came back.

All day, Zelgadiss barely left the room, except to pay the innkeeper for another night (he'd had to pay in full for last night, even though it had almost been morning) and to find food. He'd spent the whole day memorizing the text and working on applying it to minor astral shamanist spells (those in the rooms next to him wouldn't notice a little lost energy, he figured) with very pleasing results. His very handy Astral Vine spell became much more powerful with borrowed energy. It made him feel a little like a thief, but he didn't really care.

Day turned into night. Zelgadiss sat down on the bed. He was, for all intents and purposes, done experimenting with information in the manuscript. And he was a little mentally drained. Translating, memorizing, and spellcasting for hours straight would do that to a person. He looked outside the window again, then stood and walked up to it.

It had become very dark outside. Snow was falling again, heavier this time, and there was a certain distinct feeling in the air: the feeling of sacred, peaceful quiet. The feeling that comes only one time of year: on Christmas Eve Night.

Zelgadiss sighed and turned away from the window, over at the candle on his nightstand. When he was a kid, before Rezo came and ruined his life, he used to put candles in the window on Christmas Eve. Then they'd let them burn all night, regardless of the fire hazard. Some things were just worth a little bit of risk.

But that was before Rezo...changed him. Corrupted him. And if Xelloss was right, and Zelgadiss wasn't human anymore, then Rezo killed him. Zelgadiss scowled, then shook his head. No. that wasn't the way to think about things. Not tonight. Not when the rest of the world was rejoicing around him, and he was... well. Normally when the rest of the world rejoiced, he moped in a corner. But he'd just have to change that.

With that, Zelgadiss picked up the candle from the night stand and put it in the window, fire hazard be damned. And he smiled, watching as the light from the candle illuminated the clumpy snowflakes falling outside the window.

"Ah, Zelgadiss-san!" Xelloss interrupted. Zelgadiss jumped. He grabbed his sword from his bedside and cast a powered-up Astral Vine spell. "Oh, I see you've figured out how to use the information in the text already, haven't you? Just what I'd expect of Zelgadiss-san!"

"Gee, thanks," Zelgadiss grumbled and stopped the spell. He gestured towards the papers on the bed. "I'm done with them."

"Oh, good," Xelloss said. He picked them up and set them on fire. Now Zelgadiss was the only one who would know about astral draining. Kind of satisfying, really. "Actually, I was expecting you to need them for a while longer."

"Really?" Zelgadiss asked, mostly uninterested. His gaze drifted back outside the window.

"Mmhmm," Xelloss replied, sitting down on the bed. "So, I now have a free block of time! Quite rare for me, really. Care to share it with me? It is Christmas Eve, after all."

Zelgadiss frowned. "No, thanks."

"Come on. You don't honestly mean to spend Christmas Eve alone, do you?"

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"Why?" Xelloss asked. Then he smirked a little more. "Tell me, Zelgadiss. Do you plan on running away from human interaction _forever?_ Especially since you now know your cure is impossible."

Zelgadiss frowned. Just like Gourry had said... well, phrased a little differently. "Are you aware that you're practically quoting Gourry?"

Xelloss winced. "Not my finest hour, then."

"No."

"Well, that just means that he almost got something right for once. Not completely impossible for him." Xelloss went over to the window and put the candle to the side.

"What are you doing?" Zelgadiss asked.

"Come here," Xelloss said. "I want to show you something." He looked outside. Zelgadiss, cautious, walked up to the window.

Xelloss promptly shoved him outside and slammed the window shut. And locked it, but Zelgadiss was too busy casting Levitation to notice.

Zelgadiss landed safely. "What the hell?!" he cried—or tried to, and found a snowball in his face. He scrambled to wipe the snow off his face, and spotted Xelloss laughing at him. Zelgadiss grinned. Maybe he couldn't win a magic fight with Xelloss, but a snowball fight...he could manage.

He wasn't wearing any gloves, but his chimera body barely felt any cold. He grabbed a chunk of snow and jumped to the side, just in time to dodge a second snowball from Xelloss. He threw his own snowball at the Mazoku with impressive force, but Xelloss just teleported out of the way.

"Hey! No teleporting!" Zelgadiss protested.

"Oh, fine," Xelloss said, and threw another snowball. Zelgadiss dodged and grabbed another couple handfuls of snow. Xelloss formed another snowball with inhuman speed, but Zelgadiss used his own inhuman speed to sneak up behind the Mazoku and whitewash him. Xelloss was apparently severely handicapped without his teleportation ability. Xelloss squirmed away. "Well. If you can use your demon speed, then I can, too!" And despite Zelgadiss' running around, Xelloss managed to whitewash Zelgadiss right back.

The fight went on for a good thirty minutes, before Zelgadiss collapsed from exhaustion. "Can't...move..." Zelgadiss mumbled, lying on the ground.

"Really?" Xelloss grinned, teleporting beside him and leaning over to look at Zel. "I would've guessed you could have lasted at least an hour or so."

"Well I did..." Zelgadiss panted, "Spend all day studying."

"Yes, you did, didn't you? Shame on you, studying all Christmas Eve Day."

"Geez, I'm sorry." Zelgadiss rolled his eyes. "Why do you care, anyway? You're acting weird..."

Xelloss smirked and leaned in a little closer. "I am, aren't I?"

Zelgadiss blushed and looked away. "Uh... Xelloss, you're a little..."

"Too close?" Xelloss grinned. "But you're too tired to fend me off, aren't you?"

Zelgadiss' eyes widened. "Was that your plan?"

"No, not really..." Xelloss said, but pinned Zelgadiss' hands down to the ground.

"What are you..."

Xelloss cut him off with a kiss. Zelgadiss was too stunned to react at first, but then he felt himself melting to Xelloss' skill. Xelloss' tongue licked at Zelgadiss' lips, and Zelgadiss opened his mouth. Zelgadiss could feel Xelloss' tongue playing with his own, tasting his mouth. Xelloss himself didn't have much of a taste.

Then Xelloss pulled back. He was smiling. "Like I said," he explained, "I had some time to kill. Which is quite rare for me, so I figured I'd do something I'd enjoy."

Zelgadiss struggled to catch his breathe. "What...what is it you wanted to do?"

"Spend time with _you_, you dense chimera."

Zelgadiss struggled to frown, but he couldn't. "Bad joke," he said.

"Wasn't it?" Xelloss smiled. "Now let's get back inside. You may not mind the cold, but I doubt you're immune."

Come to think of it, Zelgadiss was feeling a little... no, actually, he was feeling very hot. He _had_ been feeling cold before Xelloss had decided to join him on the ground. "Uh, sure," Zelgadiss mumbled, dumbstruck.

"Meet you inside," Xelloss said, and disappeared.

Zelgadiss opened the door of his bedroom cautiously, not quite certain what he'd find. There was Xelloss, sitting casually on the bed, holding a glass of wine. Another glass and a bottle was on the nightstand, next to the now-mostly-burned candle. There was some scotch, too. "Come sit down," Xelloss said.

Zelgadiss blushed.

"Oh, don't worry!" Xelloss laughed. "You're obviously a virgin. I won't do anything _too_ inappropriate!"

Zelgadiss blushed a little brighter at the emphasis. Then, "Is it that obvious?" Zelgadiss asked, closing the door behind him.

"Yes," Xelloss said. "Wine or scotch?"

"Scotch, please," Zelgadiss said, sitting on the bed, as far as he could get away from Xelloss without looking too skittish and unmanly. "Wine barely has an effect on me."

"Of course." Xelloss poured Zelgadiss a cup and handed it over.

Zelgadiss sipped it slowly, enjoying the sting against the back of his throat and the warmth in his belly. It was really very good scotch. He found himself downing it. Xelloss poured him some more, and he downed that. Soon Xelloss found himself sitting next to a very, very drunk and half-conscious chimera.

"You know," Xelloss observed, breaking the silence between them, "If you were human and in this condition, I'd be worried about alcohol poisoning."

"Ishat so?" Zelgadiss slurred. He passed his glass to Xelloss for another one.

"Yes," Xelloss said. "But you're a chimera and you can handle it." He filled the glass and passed it back to Zelgadiss, who downed it. "Do you get hangovers? If so, you should drink some water."

"Nope. And I've passed out b'fore."

"I see. Tell me, in your drunken stupor, are you aware of how many times you've used your demonic and golem abilities tonight alone?"

"Yeah," Zelgadiss admitted. "Unfortunately. That doeshn't mean I like it." With that, he put his head against Xelloss. Xelloss looked over in surprise. He hadn't expected Zelgadiss to be open enough to do _that_, even if he was drunk. Then Zelgadiss snored a little.

"Oh," Xelloss smirked. "I see how it is." But, come to think of it, it was about time he'd reported back to his master anyway. Past time, really. But before he left...

Bells tolled in the distance, waking Zelgadiss from his slumber. He sat up to find that he was alone, covered by a blanket, and without pants. He blushed bright red. No way... He could remember most of the night very clearly, up until discovering that Xelloss's shoulder was a very comfortable pillow... and that was it. Oh no. No no no no no. He had _not_...

He stood up, and found that he was very sore from their snowball fight. Hopefully that was all he was sore from. It _had_ been a very intense snowball fight. He looked around. Over there, on the table, was a note.

Dear Zelgadiss,

No, you did not sleep with me last night, much to my displeasure. But I have taken your pants, as well as your sword. Meet me at 3 p.m in the town square if you wish to retrieve them.

Merry Christmas!

Eagerly awaiting your attendance,

Xelloss.

That _bastard_. Zelgadiss crumpled up the paper and wondered where in hell he'd find a pair of pants.


	2. Zegladiss' Christmas Day

Chapter 2: Zelgadiss' Christmas Day

Fortunately for Zelgadiss, Xelloss had neglected to steal his pajama bottoms. Unfortunately, his star-covered pajama bottoms really didn't go with his white tunic. The combination, combined with his cloak, kind of made him like a wizard wannabe. Oh well. There was nothing that he could do about that at the moment.

Then he blushed with a realization. Xelloss had stolen his pants. Repeat that. Xelloss had _stolen_ his pants. Which meant that Xelloss had removed his pants in the first place.

And this was the same Xelloss who had stolen a kiss before.

What the hell. It wasn't that he hadn't enjoyed it. He couldn't deny that. It was just that... well, his first kiss (real kiss) had been taken by a guy. No, a Mazoku. Who was probably just playing around with him.

Regardless, Zelgadiss thought, Xelloss had made his Christmas Eve a lot more bearable. And...Xelloss had also helped him deal with certain newfound information about his form. Xelloss had helped him out, and he couldn't deny that, either.

But then, he couldn't deny the fact that Xelloss was also intentionally making a fool of him. By stealing his pants.

He looked outside at the position of the sun. It was already afternoon. He must have slept in. Understandable, considering the quantity of alcohol he had drunk the night before. But that meant that he didn't have all that much time to meet Xelloss, and thus had no time to go out and buy a new pair of pants before their meeting.

Whatever. He'd just have to meet Xelloss in his pajama bottoms. That couldn't be too bad. No, wait. It could be very bad. But he'd just have to deal with it when it happened.

With that, Zelgadiss packed and left the inn to find Xelloss.

According to the sundial in the town center, it was already past 3 pm. And Xelloss was nowhere to be found.

"Of course..." Zelgadiss muttered to himself. Who would expect the Trickster Priest to actually be on time for once? Even if it had been Xelloss' own invitation. Zelgadiss sat down in the snow, leaned back against the pillar holding up the sundial, and waited.

Then his senses tingled. He wasn't sure if it was something that came from his shamanism training or because of his brau demon part, but when something powerful was coming and he was paying attention, he could tell. He leaped to his feet, ready for combat. But it was probably just Xelloss.

And he was right. "Why hello, Zelgadiss-san! What... interesting attire," Xelloss observed, predictably.

"Yeah, it's your fault," Zelgadiss grumbled.

"I suppose it is!" Xelloss grinned. "I think they're really very cute pants. You should wear them more often!"

"Shut up," Zelgadiss said, "And hand over my sword and pants."

"Yes, yes," Xelloss said. "So impatient." He produced the sword and pants and handed them over.

"There he iss!" hissed a voice.

Zelgadiss turned around to see... a snake-shaped demon. Accompanied by about fifty other snake-shaped demons. "What the hell...?"

"Ah, I thought you might like a Christmas present. Don't worry, I didn't expect you to get me anything," Xelloss said, his grin widening.

"Gee, thanks so much," Zelgadiss groaned and turned to his new foes. "Astral Vine!" he cast, using the new version of the spell. Since they were in the town center, there were plenty of people around for him to draw energy from. Even if they did decide to run away as the snake demons charged.

"Oh, don't worry!" Xelloss chirped. "They're really very easy to kill. Of course, their bite is extremely poisonous, but... you don't have to worry about that, now, do you?"

"And how's this supposed to be a Christmas present?!" Zelgadiss cried as he plowed through the snakes.

"Oh! I thought that would have been obvious. It's a chance to test out your new spell! Also, due to their fatally poisonous bite, each one has a disproportionate amount of experience points! You could even gain a level!"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Oh, never mind. Here, I'll join you!" And with that, Xelloss leaped into the fray. "I've got your back!"

After the sixth one fell, they started to get the idea. "They're too strong!" hissed one. "Run!"

But it was too late. Xelloss teleported on the other side, blocking their escape route. Xelloss blocked and distracted them while Zelgadiss slashed eagerly away. Together, the two of them chopped and exploded fifty snake demons in under five minutes. Xelloss didn't even use any of his really flashy spells.

Zelgadiss found himself sporting a rather wide grin, a grin splattered with dissipating lesser-demon blood. "Now wasn't that fun?" Xelloss asked, teleporting beside Zelgadiss. "And not even a scratch!"

"No," Zelgadiss agreed. "It seems like their only real attack was their bite..."

"Mostly," Xelloss nodded. "Now, I bet you haven't even eaten anything yet, have you?"

Zelgadiss shook his head. "No, I woke up too late."

"Terrific!" Xelloss grinned. "I have the perfect place picked out."

Zelgadiss' jaw dropped as realization hit him. "Wait a second. This is your idea... of a date, isn't it?"

Xelloss's grin just grew. "This way," he said.

Xelloss led Zelgadiss to a cozy little restaurant that was only a few blocks away. At least, it would have been cozy, if it weren't for all the ridiculous Christmas decorations everywhere. With the giant Santa tucked in next to their table, the restaurant's description fell from "cozy" to "damned cramped." Christmas lights lit the place up brighter than the sun, and the waitress had been forced to wear a female elf costume. Actually, that elf costume helped make the place bearable.

"Interested?" Xelloss asked, seeing Zelgadiss's gaze creep up the waitress's legs to land on her cleavage.

"Uh... no!" Zelgadiss blushed, looking away.

"Oh, don't feel so bad," Xelloss said, patting Zelgadiss on the back. Which just made Zelgadiss blush harder.

"But... uh... isn't this some sort of a date?" Zelgadiss asked.

"Do you want it to be?"

Zelgadiss looked away.

"I take that as a yes!" Xelloss exclaimed, grinning like a fool. "Which means that, yes, this is a date, Zelgadiss-san. And that you should be punished for looking at women while you're on a date with me."

"P-punished?" Zelgadiss didn't want to think about the punishment Xelloss might have in store for him. Xelloss scooted his chair closer.

"Yes,_punished,_" Xelloss breathed into his ear. Zelgadiss jumped, then froze when he felt Xelloss's hand on his leg.

"Uh... X-xelloss..." Zelgadiss stuttered.

"Yeees, Zelgadiss-san?" Xelloss inquired, his hand moving up.

"I... I don't think this is the place... for that."

"For what? This?" Xelloss' hand slipped in between Zelgadiss' thighs.

"Y-yes!" Zelgadiss cried, causing the waitress to turn to them in surprise. That shut him up.

"Oh, Zelgadiss-san," Xelloss whispered in his ear, "You know I don't care about such human things like the opinion of others. But you do, don't you? Which means you'd better be quiet."

The waitress turned around, and Xelloss grabbed Zelgadiss through the cloth of his pajama pants. Zelgadiss' breath caught. His face turned beat red as Xelloss began doing some very unchaste things to him under the table.

And then their food came, and thankfully, Xelloss stopped, giving Zelgadiss a chance to breathe. "Xelloss..." Zelgadiss growled.

"Yeeees?" Xelloss replied innocently.

"Please don't do that anymore."

"Oh, you can't really mean that."

"Yes, I do."

"But you were enjoying it so much!"

Zelgadiss couldn't deny that. "Fine. Just not... here. All right?"

"Then I suggest you hurry up and eat, before I can't contain myself any longer."

Zelgadiss took the hint, and ate like Lina.

Xelloss followed Zelgadiss up to the inn room this time. But he didn't do anything until they were through the door, to Zelgadiss' relief. But as soon as they were through, Xelloss attacked. And Zelgadiss was very willing to be attacked. Xelloss pushed him down onto the bed.

"Still wearing the pajama bottoms, I see..." Xelloss observed with a grin as he began to pull them down.

Zelgadiss gave out a little "Eep" at that. Xelloss didn't even pause.

"Xelloss, hold on!" Zelgadiss said, pushing Xelloss away.

"I've never... done anything like this before. Okay?" Zelgadiss panted. "None of this."

"But we just kissed!"

"Yes. And I've never kissed anyone before, especially not a _guy._ I'm not... ready."

"But..."

"No."

Xelloss sighed. "Fine."

Zelgadiss sat up. "But I am really glad that I had someone to spend Christmas with for once."

Xelloss grinned. "Me too," he said, sitting beside him and wrapped the comforter around them both.

Which made Zelgadiss jerk in surprise. "You are?"

"Well yes. Christmas is much better when you have someone to spend it with."

"But you're..."

"Indeed," Xelloss agreed. "It's complicated and difficult, so let's not talk about it any more for now. All right?"

"Sure..."

"For now, let's just enjoy Christmas." Xelloss pulled the comforter tighter around the two of them and gently nudged Zelgadiss' head down to lie on his shoulder. Zelgadiss gave a pleased sigh as he breathed in Xelloss' unique, slightly spicy scent.

Yes, this was best, Zelgadiss thought. He'd deal with the issues later. For now, for the first time since Rezo had changed him, it was really Christmas.

And the snow fell outside the window in soft, soundless flakes.

A/N: Yeah, yeah, no sex when you wanted there to be sex. And yeah, it's just fluff. XD Maybe I'll add more to it sometime... probably not. Slayers fandom is practically silent these days, and us writers need our review-food before we write much. Sooo I probably won't be adding anything to this any time soon.


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